How to Find Your Wi-Fi Password on Windows 10, Windows 11 & Mac

How to Find Your Wi-Fi Password in Windows 10, Windows 11, or on a Mac

Your computer probably remembers the Wi-Fi password even when you don't. Here's how to find a saved Wi-Fi password in Windows 10, Windows 11, and on a Mac.

You know the Wi-Fi password.

Well, technically your computer knows the Wi-Fi password.

You typed it in six months ago, connected successfully, and then immediately removed it from your brain to make room for something more important.

Now you need to connect another laptop, phone, tablet, streaming device, printer, or whatever else has suddenly decided it needs internet access.

Good news: if your computer has already connected to the Wi-Fi network, you can usually find the saved password without resetting the router or crawling underneath a desk looking for a sticker.

Here's how.

The Quick Answer

If you just need the password and do not particularly care how Windows or macOS feels about the matter:

Windows 11

Go to Settings → Network & internet → Properties, then select Show next to Wi-Fi network password.

For a previously saved network, go to Settings → Network & internet → Wi-Fi → Manage known networks, select the network, and choose Show.

Windows 10

Go to Control Panel → Network and Internet → Network and Sharing Center, click your Wi-Fi connection, then choose Wireless Properties → Security → Show characters.

Mac

Open the Passwords app, choose Wi-Fi, select the network, and reveal the saved password.

If you need a little more detail — or Windows has hidden the thing somewhere you would never reasonably think to look — keep reading.

How to Find Your Wi-Fi Password in Windows 11

Microsoft has made this considerably easier in current versions of Windows 11.

Find the password for the Wi-Fi network you're using now

Open Settings.
Select Network & internet.
Open Properties for your current Wi-Fi connection.
Find Wi-Fi network password.
Select Show.

Windows will display the saved password.

Depending on your version of Windows 11, you may also see a QR code that another device can scan to join the network.

That is considerably nicer than the old Windows method, which involved several windows, a tab, a checkbox, and the vague feeling that you had wandered into an administrative area where normal people were not expected.

Find the password for a Wi-Fi network you've used before

Windows 11 can also show passwords for Wi-Fi networks the computer remembers, even if you are not currently connected to them.

Go to:

Settings → Network & internet → Wi-Fi → Manage known networks

Select the network you want.

Next to Wi-Fi network password, select Show.

As long as Windows still has the network profile saved, you should be able to retrieve the password.

How to Find Your Wi-Fi Password in Windows 10

Windows 10 takes the scenic route.

It still works. It just makes you earn it.

If you are currently connected to the Wi-Fi network:

Open Control Panel.
Select Network and Internet.
Select Network and Sharing Center.
Next to Connections, click the name of your Wi-Fi network.
In the Wi-Fi Status window, click Wireless Properties.
Select the Security tab.
Check Show characters.

Your Wi-Fi password appears in the Network security key field.

And yes, "Network security key" is Windows-speak for the thing the rest of us call the Wi-Fi password.

A note about Windows 10

Microsoft ended standard support for Windows 10 on October 14, 2025. Plenty of computers are still running it, however, which is why we're keeping these instructions here rather than pretending every Windows 10 machine evaporated on schedule.

Find a Saved Wi-Fi Password Using Command Prompt

There is another method that works on Windows and is particularly useful if you need the password for a network your computer remembers but you are not currently using.

Don't let the words Command Prompt scare you.

We're typing two commands, not launching a satellite.

Step 1: See the Wi-Fi networks Windows remembers

Open Command Prompt.

Enter:

netsh wlan show profiles

Press Enter.

Windows will display the Wi-Fi profiles saved on the computer.

Find the name of the network you want.

Step 2: Show the password

Enter:

netsh wlan show profile name="NETWORK NAME" key=clear

Replace NETWORK NAME with the actual Wi-Fi network name.

For example:

netsh wlan show profile name="ConferenceWiFi" key=clear

Press Enter.

Look under Security settings for:

Key Content

That is the saved Wi-Fi password.

If the network name contains spaces, keep the quotation marks around it.

How to Find Your Wi-Fi Password on a Mac

Apple has also made finding saved Wi-Fi passwords much easier on current versions of macOS.

Use the Passwords App

Open the Passwords app on your Mac.

Select Wi-Fi in the sidebar.
Choose the Wi-Fi network you want.
Find the password field.
Hover over the hidden password to reveal it.

You may be asked to authenticate with Touch ID or your Mac password.

The Passwords app can show the Wi-Fi network you're currently using as well as previously saved networks.

You can also click the hidden password to copy it.

Share the Wi-Fi Network Without Typing the Password

If you are simply trying to get another Apple device online, you may not need to reveal or type the password at all.

Apple can share the password between nearby supported devices when both devices have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enabled and the appropriate contact information is saved.

Current versions of the Passwords app can also display a network QR code that another device can scan.

Sometimes the easiest way to find the password is not to find the password. Technology occasionally gets one right.

What If the Password Doesn't Appear?

These methods depend on your computer having previously connected to the network and still having the network information saved.

You may not be able to retrieve the password if:

The saved Wi-Fi profile was deleted.
The computer has never connected to the network.
The network uses enterprise authentication instead of one shared Wi-Fi password.
Your organization manages the computer and restricts access to saved credentials.
The Wi-Fi password has changed since the computer last connected.

In those cases, you will need to get the current password from the router, your internet provider's app, your network administrator, or whoever manages the Wi-Fi.

If you are at a hotel, conference center, office, coffee shop, or other public location, asking the staff may be considerably faster than turning this into an IT archaeology project.

Can You Find a Wi-Fi Password Without Being Connected?

Sometimes.

On Windows 11, you can view passwords for networks stored under Manage known networks.

On Windows 10 or Windows 11, the Command Prompt method can retrieve a password for a Wi-Fi profile that is still stored on the computer.

On a Mac, the Passwords app can show previously saved Wi-Fi networks.

What none of these methods can do is magically retrieve the password for a Wi-Fi network your computer has never joined.

That's probably for the best.

Can I Find the Wi-Fi Password on the Router?

Usually.

If you cannot retrieve the saved password from your computer, the router may have the original Wi-Fi network name and password printed on a label.

Many newer routers and internet providers also let you view or change the Wi-Fi password through a web interface or mobile app.

One important catch: if someone changed the Wi-Fi password after the router was installed, the password printed on the router may no longer be correct.

Is the Wi-Fi Password the Same as the Router Password?

Usually not.

The Wi-Fi password is what devices use to join the wireless network.

The router administrator password is used to change settings on the router itself.

They can technically be set to the same thing, but that is generally not a good idea.

If your laptop is asking to join Wi-Fi, you want the Wi-Fi password.

Can I See a Wi-Fi Password That Was Changed?

Your computer can only show the password stored in its saved network profile.

If someone changed the network's password after your computer last connected, Windows or macOS may still show the old password.

If the computer can no longer connect automatically, that is a pretty good clue that the saved password and the current network password no longer match.

One Last Thing: Be Careful Where You Paste It

A saved Wi-Fi password is still a password.

If you reveal or copy it, avoid pasting it into email, chat, screenshots, shared documents, or support tickets unless there is a good reason to do so.

This is especially important for office, event, venue, and production networks where one shared credential may provide access to more devices than you realize.

Find it. Use it. Try not to accidentally put it in the group chat.

Official Documentation

These instructions were checked against current Microsoft and Apple documentation.

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